The Havana Tribune, a state-controlled Cuban newspaper, has added insult to injury following Fidel Castro’s scathing criticism of President Barack Obama upon his departure from the island. In an editorial, the title of which refers to President Obama …
Category: 2016 Election
MSNBC’s Maddow to Hillary: ‘Not Unreasonable’ To Suspect People Will Give To Clinton Foundation To Get Influence
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow told Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that it’s “not unreasonable to suspect that people may give donations to the Clinton Foundation hoping that they will favorably influence your opinion” and wondered if she will divorce herself from the Clinton Global Initiative and Clinton Foundation during an interview on Wednesday. Maddow asked if there was an “ethical case” to wind down the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative, because while the foundation does “good works” “it is not unreasonable to suspect that people may give donations to the Clinton Foundation hoping that they will favorably influence your opinion toward them as a presidential candidate, or eventually as president, if you’re elected. Is there an ethical concern there that should be, essentially, a split between you and your family, and this foundation, that has done good work, but now you’re in a different position with regard to potential donors?” Hillary answered, “I think that the work that it’s done has been extraordinary, and I give the credit to my husband and my daughter, because I haven’t been involved for that long. And when I look at what they’ve accomplished, and what they’ve been able
Asked and Answered: An 11-Year-Old Daughter of An Incarcerated Individual Shares Her Story
This is the latest post in our “Asked and Answered” series, in which we periodically feature an exchange between the President or a Senior Administration Official and an American who wrote him. If you’d like to write the President yourself, you can do so here.
Among the 2.2 million people incarcerated in state and federal prisons, more than half are parents of children below the age of 18.
It’s a staggering statistic, with real consequences for the children who live with a parent in prison – many of whom are serving out a punishment that does not fit their crime.
When 11-year-old Madison’s dad was sent to prison, Madison looked for books to help her cope with her sadness and disappointment. When she couldn’t find any that could help her, she wrote her own.
Now, her father is set to be released this August. Madison’s greatest worry is that he won’t have the support he needs to find a job, a home, and a new life that will give them both an opportunity to see each other. So she wrote President Obama to see if there’s anything he can do to help ensure her father and other convicted felons get that support – and President Obama responded.
Read their letters below.
President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
February 5, 2016
Dear President Obama,
My name is Madison […] and I’m 11 years old. I live in Crofton, Maryland. I’m writing to you about my dad. He’s an inmate at the Patuxent Institute in Jessup, MD. He gets release in August 2016. When he gets out I want him to have a great job, a house, and to see me more often. My biggest wish is for him to be very successful and never go to jail again. It’s really hard for convicted felons to get a great job and find the support they need to be successful. As President of the United States of America, is there anything you can do to make it easier for my dad to get a job and find the support he needs?
As an 11 year old, I thought I didn’t have a voice, but I realized I did. When he went to jail I was sad and disappointed. My mom and I looked for books to help me through this difficult time. We couldn’t find anything to help me. So, on my own, I decided to write a book to help every kid in the world that has a parent in jail. I wanted other kids to know they’re not alone in their situation. On December 1, 2015, I launched my book […] It’s a best seller on Amazon.
If an 11 year old can find the courage to write a book about one of the most embarrassing situations in her life time, then I know you can do something as the President of the United States of America to help support all convicted felons when they get out of jail.
I hope you can find 20 minutes in your day to read my book. Please share it with Mrs. Obama, Malia, and Natasha.
“I will continue to love my daddy and pursue my dreams. His mistakes won’t stop me from being who I’m meant to be. I promise to not judge him by his mistakes, but by the size of his heart.”
Sincerely,
Madison
CC
Valerie Jarrett
Josh Earnest
The White House
Washington
March 27, 2016
Dear Madison,
Thank you for sharing your story with me. Your letter and book reached my desk, and it’s clear you care a lot about your dad and about other kids going through tough situations like yours.
I admire your determination to make sure your dad has the support and resources he needs to put his life back on track and be there for you, and I want you to know that my Administration is working to help people like him rebuild their lives after having made a mistake. Through the Federal Interagency Reentry Council, we are pushing to improve rehabilitation programs, like job training and drug counseling, and to advance reentry programs that would help with things like housing, education, and healthcare. This is an issue that means a lot to me too, and I will keep doing everything I can to make sure all our people have the opportunity to earn a second chance.
Again, thank you for reaching out to me. You’re right that your voice is important, and I trust you will keep working hard to pursue your dreams. I want you to hold on to the optimism and resolve that have brought you this far, and I am confident you will continue to do great things.
Your friend,
Barack Obama
As part of Women’s History Month and in the lead up to the United State of Women Summit, the White House is highlighting stories of women and girls who have been impacted by the criminal justice system, including children of incarcerated parents.
The President read Madison’s letter as one of the 10 letters that he receives each day. Inspired by her story, the White House Council on Women and Girls invited Madison today to join Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch at the White House Convening on Women and the Criminal Justice System.
The President believes America is a nation of second chances. That’s why he has commuted the prison sentences of 248 people, including 61 individuals announced today, most of whom are low-level drug offenders whose sentences would have been shorter if they were convicted under today’s laws. White House Counsel Neil Eggleston explains here.
The Guardian: Hillary Clinton Ran Against Gun Control In 2008
On March 29 The Guardian pointed out that although Hillary Clinton is running on a gun control platform in 2016, she ran against excessive gun control in 2008.
Hillary: Trump, Cruz Are ‘in Over Their Heads’
Wednesday on the campaign trail in New York, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton went on the offensive against Republican presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). She said, “On the Republican side, what we are hearing is truly scary—when Donald Trump talks casually about using torture and allowing more countries to get nuclear weapons, or when Ted Cruz calls for treating American Muslims like criminals and racial profiling predominantly Muslim neighborhoods. That doesn’t make them sound strong, that makes them sound in over their heads.” Clinton added, “When a candidate for president says we can solve America’s problems by building a wall, discriminating against people based on their religion and turning against each other, well New Yorkers know better.” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
Poll: Cruz Up 10 in Wisconsin, Sanders Edges Clinton
A new poll from Marquette University Law School shows both Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders surging into the leads of their respective primaries ahead of Tuesday’s critical vote. Cruz has opened a 10 point lead over second-place D…
Hillary Clinton Campaigns With Scandal Plagued ‘Friend’ Charlie Rangel In Harlem
Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton is campaigning with another scandal-plagued politician in New York City: Rep. Charlie Rangel.
Obama: Fight Against Islamic Terrorism Not a ‘Civilizational Conflict’
President Obama believes that Republicans have mis-identified the threat posed by the religion of Islam as a violent religion. During a conversation with the Atlantic’s Jeffery Goldberg, Obama explained that too many Republicans wanted him to identify the terrorist threat using the same moral clarity as Reagan did with the threat of Communism. He asserted that Communism “wasn’t a millennium-old religion that was embraced by a whole host of good, decent, hard-working people who are our allies” like the religion of Islam. Obama argued that Trump’s controversial suggested ban on Muslims and refugees entering the country after terrorist attacks was the logical conclusion of Republicans’ anti-Islam rhetoric over the years. “I’m amused when I watch Republicans claim that Trump’s language is unacceptable, and ask, ‘How did we get here?’” Obama said. “We got here in part because the Republican base had been fed this notion that Islam is inherently violent, that this is who these folks are.” Obama said that Republican rhetoric had raised fears among Americans that they were in a “civilizational conflict” against the religion of Islam. He also dismissed the notion that America was in danger of being “destroyed internally by this foreign civilization.” That made it more difficult, he